Alternate Path
by KaiTen
Summary: **Chapter 3** G/S, A/U, A vision of Grissom and Sara through the Sliding Doors. What could have been, had they met in a different time and under different circumstances.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: We do not own CSI. It's unfortunate, but true. Anthony Zuiker, et al. owns it, apparently.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Florida, 1993  
  
The sun shone down hotly, although it was only early in the day. Standing in a beach vendor's line, Sara Sidle lifted her hair from her neck, in hope that somehow, the humid air would cool her. It was cramped where she stood, crammed in between other college students on vacation.  
  
Dropping her futile attempt at cooling down, Sara glanced down to check the leftover change she'd borrowed from Ken Fuller, who she had traveled to Florida with. It was correct, although slightly slippery from her grasp and just enough to buy each of them a small Coke. Sara looked up and moved forward quickly when she was nudged roughly from behind, to fill in the gap she had left. Counting the people in the queue in front of her, she found that she was now third in her line.  
  
Nearly two minutes later, after standing in the little shade that the palm trees cast, it was Sara's turn to be served. "Hi, could I please have," She was interrupted by another shove from behind. Losing her balance, coins dropped when she grabbed wildly at the counter as she spun.  
  
After regaining her balance and glaring at the guilty party, Sara turned back to the counter.  
  
"What'll it be, miss?"  
  
It was then that Sara realized she had dropped the coins. She cast a quick glance to the ground but with no luck, the money having rolled out of sight, under the vendor's booth and customer's feet.  
  
The vendor was unsympathetic. "If you aren't going to order, move to the side."  
  
"Here, let me."  
  
The man's hand that appeared on her arm, just above her shoulder, wore no ornamentation. Quickly traveling to connect a face to it, Sara took in a white, long sleeved business shirt that was not rolled back like so many other white collar workers trying to escape the heat. This, Sara processed rapidly before continuing upwards. Bright blue eyes met her own brown ones, concern obvious in them.  
  
He had a kind face, Sara decided. "No, it's fine, I don't really need anything." She tried to back away as grumbling could be heard from the impatient people behind her.  
  
He held on tight. "Don't, I mean, I think you do need something. It's too hot out here." Ignoring the gathering behind them, he turned back to the vendor.  
  
"Have you decided, yet?" Leaning on his elbows, the vendor looked thoroughly annoyed. 'Probably because he isn't making any money, us standing here." Sara thought.  
  
"Yes, I think so. The lady will have a?" He turned back to Sara to ask silently with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"A small Coke."  
  
"And I'll have the same, thank you."  
  
After they were served, they quickly escaped the mob and headed directly to the side of a building, where there was a knee-high brick flowerbed with a few straggly pansies planted haphazardly. Finding a clean spot, they sat down.  
  
Taking this moment of silence, as they both sipped from their straws, Sara studied him. He was in his mid thirties, she guessed, although it was hard to tell. A few grey hairs, hardly distinguishable from the rest of his hair was the only give away to his age. Laugh lines creased at the corner of his eyes, but they could form early. She stuck a hand out for him to shake. "Thank you, back there. I'm Sara Sidle."  
  
He took her hand and shook it, his grasp firm and dry, despite the heat. "I'm Gil Grissom. And don't worry about it. Anything, for a lady in distress."  
  
Sara smiled at him widely, showing her gap-toothed smile. She didn't have anything to say to that, really, and let the conversation lapse as she took another drink. He, now 'Gil' in her mind, followed suit.  
  
It was getting hotter, and it was refreshing to sit in what constituted as shade and drink something cold, but as her thoughts wandered, Sara remembered that Ken was waiting for her to return with drinks for them both. He was nice, Sara decided, but she didn't especially enamor him.  
  
A slurp brought her back to the present. Gil had reached the dregs of his bottle. So well mannered and charming, Sara knew instantly that he was embarrassed by his social gaffe. For someone that had rescued her, Sara wasn't going to leave him like that.  
  
She slurped too.  
  
Looking up into his eyes, she laughed at his shocked expression. "Don't worry about it, it's nothing." Her laughing only increased when the elderly lady who had been sitting next to them hurriedly left, muttering something about "Ill mannered young hooligans." Gil joined in.  
  
Slowly, their laughing subsided, as they moved onto a safer topic. "It's so hot here. I don't know how you can even wear long sleeves." Sara felt she was over dressed, in a sky blue singlet top and mid thigh length shorts.  
  
"It's not too bad. Besides, I live in Las Vegas."  
  
She knew it wasn't any of her business, but her curious nature got the better of her. "So what are you doing down here?"  
  
He didn't seem to mind answering. "I'm just visiting for a seminar about forensics. I'm a CSI, a Crime Scene Investigator."  
  
"Oh, wow. That's one job I haven't thought about. Where is the seminar?"  
  
"It's at Wyndham Grand Bay Coco. Grove Hotel. Would you like to come? It's at two in the afternoon, tomorrow."  
  
He asked it without thinking, she was sure. Sara knew of that hotel. It wasn't exactly college student accommodation. "Thank you for the invite, I'll see if I can come." It was an ambiguous response, but Sara wasn't certain that it was a good idea, to go. She strove for a new topic of conversation but came up with none. She looked down, to the condensation gathering outside her drink and shook a few drops loose before she took a sip.  
  
It was Gil's turn to rescue her. "So, you're at college?"  
  
That was an easy topic. "Yes, I'm nearly finished my Bachelor of Science."  
  
"What are you majoring in?" He appeared to be very interested in her. It was nice of him.  
  
She finished her Coke. "Physics." Sara's humor caught up with her. "A friend of mine is always asking me why it isn't a 'Spinster of Science', though, you know, with equality for the sexes and all."  
  
He grinned at her, his blue eyes twinkling. "You should take that up with the schools. That's a terrible oversight."  
  
"It is."  
  
A seagull landed next to Sara, breaking their easy conversation. It was a big one, obviously living well now that spring had come and the tourists had arrived. It quickly reeled away with an indignant sounding squawk as a man came too close.  
  
"Sara!" It was Ken, jogging towards her. His brown hair flopped in front of his hazel eyes but he brushed it out with a flick. "Where have you been? I have been waiting, I mean, oh." He had realized that she was talking with Grissom, obvious by how they were positioned towards each other. "Hi, I'm Ken." He thrust his hand out for Gil to shake.  
  
Gil shook it, introducing himself and then standing. "I've got to get back, Sara. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"I'll try and make it, Gil. Thanks again for the drink." They exchanged smiles, then Gil turned and walked away. Sara watched him go, even as Ken spoke to her.  
  
As Gil departed, he heard part of Sara and Ken's conversation that the wind carried after him.  
  
"Who was that?"  
  
"Oh, that was someone who was nice to me, that's all, Ken." 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two  
  
Sara's eyes remained fixed on his retreating form, taking in every aspect of the man that had rescued her. From the curls of his hair down to his bow-legged walk. She smiled faintly at the sight, burning the image into her memory, of Gil Grissom.  
  
Her attention was drawn back to the man standing next to her as he laid his hand on her arm. "Sara?"  
  
"Umm, Ken, Hi. I couldn't get the drinks. There were too many people, I got bumped and spilled the coins. I'm sorry." Her eyes darted to his.  
  
Ken squinted from the bright sunshine as he looked to where she, just a few moments before, had been staring. A look of realization soon appeared. He knew they had come down for Spring Break together but not really 'together'. They had had sex together, more than once, but neither of them had expectations of it going any further. 'Sara's a great girl but we have way too different lives.' A smile began to play up on his face as he took in her countenance. 'Maybe this guy will be her...vacation.' She was looking in the direction of that guy again. Waiting for her to turn back, he finally said, "Nah, that's alright Sara, I'm going to go back to the rooms then head out with Mark and Tom. Meet back up later?"  
  
Sara nodded distantly. Her mind still on the man she had encountered. It suddenly hit her that Ken had walked off in the direction of the Hotel. Smiling at what he had said, she wondered if he had an inclination about what she was thinking about. 'We don't have anything exclusive.' Sara slowly walked toward the beach and remained there most of the day as she walked along the shore, ignoring the yells from girls she knew from school. As she walked, images of 'him' continuously invaded her thoughts.  
  
Later that night, she arrived back at her room after having a quick bite and settled in with her new book, having no desire to romp around with the others, drinking and being goofy. She had decided that the seminar was something she couldn't afford not to attend. 'I have to see him again.'  
  
It was three in the morning when Ken got back to his room, knowing full well that Sara was already there and asleep. He approached the bed and studied her sleeping form. 'She's a beautiful woman, Ken.' He smiled as he sat next to her on the bed, pushing a lock of her hair away from her eyes. 'But she needs this.'  
  
Sara's eyes fluttered open, taking in the sight of Ken watching her. "Hey, what are you doing?"  
  
"Waiting for you to wake up." He moved to the side a little to allow her more room as she sat up. "I wanted to talk."  
  
Sara tilted her head in consideration of her lover and friend. "Talk, about what?"  
  
"I think I'm going to stay with the guys in their room. Give you some, space."  
  
"Space? What do you mean?" Sara was still trying to wake up and wasn't fully understanding him.  
  
"I just think you and he have something to explore together, and I don't want to be the one to hold you back." He could tell she was having a hard time trying to piece his words together. "That guy, from earlier today. I think you like him. And I think you should take a chance and meet him again."  
  
Sara shook her head for a moment as she tried to take this in. "You're saying that you want me to try and go out with him?"  
  
"Yeah. You seemed attracted to each other and we, well, we don't have anything going on here that is exclusive. We both know that." He saw the shocked look on her face although it was quickly becoming one of relief. "Sara, we also both know that this casual thing we have isn't going anywhere. We're down here to have fun and I think you should, but if I'm around I don't think you will let yourself."  
  
Sara could only stare at the young man beside her. She wanted to go to the seminar but didn't know if she really could do that with Ken around. She wasn't one to cheat and in her mind that's what it would be. "Umm, Ken. Thanks. I don't really know what to say." She watched the smile creep up his face and knew just how good she had it. He was a good friend and always would be. "But, Ken, you don't have to stay with the guys. We can still share this room. It does have two beds."  
  
Ken chuckled. "Sara, do you really think that I want to walk in on you with that guy. We may not be exclusive, but, hey, I do have my pride."  
  
Sara laughed, her face was beet-red but she laughed nonetheless. "Ken! I can't believe you said that."  
  
"What?"  
  
"That I, we, geez, we barely know each other's names. What makes you think we would be going that far?"  
  
It was Ken's turn to laugh. "Because Sara, the way you were drooling after him, of course that's what I would think."  
  
He barely got the words out as a pillow smacked him in the face. Muffled shouts could soon be heard down the hall. If anyone had heard them they would have wondered about it.  
  
After several minutes of throwing pillows at each other and knocking the other senseless. They laid back on the bed, gulping deep breaths of air. Then the laughter settled in.  
  
Ken looked over at the disheveled mess he knew was actually Sara Sidle then turned over on his side, propping himself up on his elbow. "Sara, really, I'll stay with the guys. There's plenty of room."  
  
"No, Ken, you can stay here. Besides, he's only visiting too. He's got a room at the Wyndham, I'm sure if 'anything' were to come out of our chance meeting, it would happen there."  
  
That got the reaction she expected. Ken rolled over onto his back choking back the long gales of laughter as she started pounding him again with the pillow.  
  
The next morning, Sara found herself waking up next to her friend. 'He didn't even get out of his clothes, the knothead.' She swung her head back to look at the clock on the night stand and stared at the clock. It was ten in the morning and the seminar would be at two. 'Plenty of time.' She turned back over and fell back to sleep, dreaming sweetly about the man with the bright blue eyes, Gil Grissom. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three  
  
Reality, Las Vegas, 2003  
  
"Sara, I need to see you in my office."  
  
She looked up hurriedly from the microscope just in time to see Grissom's departing form through the doorway. 'That was it? No please, no nothing? Must be important.'  
  
Sighing lightly, Sara carefully put away the slides she had been examining, before following in Grissom's wake.  
  
'Things have been tense,' she reflected on the changes in their relationship from one that had not too long ago been, easy. 'Easy. That isn't the word to describe how it was. It was more than that, it was if we could,' the word eluded her grasp.  
  
Her reverie was broken when Nick stopped her in the hallway to talk. "Hey, Sara. What's up?" His smile and happy manner were in direct opposition to Sara's mood.  
  
"Meeting with Grissom."  
  
Waving his hand in the direction he had come from, Nick continued, "Gris just passed by. A word of warning, though, he looked mighty preoccupied."  
  
"Oh, thanks Nick." She smiled as if hearing him, yet her eyes drifted down the hall in the direction he had gestured to. "I was looking for Grissom."  
  
'What? She just said she was meeting with Grissom.' Sara continued on her way as Nick watched her go. She was definitely preoccupied too, Nick decided. 'Hell, she and Grissom make quite the pair.'  
  
When Sara arrived at Grissom's office, she didn't enter, but leaned in her almost customary position against the doorframe. 'I always seem to be leaning in his doorway.'  
  
Grissom didn't look up from where he was seated, his nose almost buried in some files.  
  
When she shifted on her feet impatiently and he still hadn't noticed her, she spoke, "Grissom, you said you wanted to see me?"  
  
Now he looked up. "Oh, yes. Sorry, Sara, I didn't see you." Grissom began to gather the files he had been reading.  
  
Her tone was dry. "Obviously. What did you want to see me about?" Unconsciously, Sara moved further into his office, till she stood near the closest corner of the desk to the door.  
  
"Here," He handed her the files then dropped his hand back to his desk where it was then clasped in the other. "I wanted you to look at these files."  
  
'That's it?' Somehow, she had expected more than that. 'I don't know why I should, though. Things have been so strained between us lately.' He wasn't looking at her. 'Damn, it.' Turning on her heel in an abrupt face, Sara left Grissom's office with nothing more than "Sure, Grissom," as she walked through the open door.  
  
Sara returned to her slides, but she couldn't focus her thoughts on her work. Something bothered her. 'Was it the way he dropped his hand when he gave me the files?' It was as if Grissom had been fearful of contamination, but that wasn't it. Brushing a strand of hair behind her ears, Sara tried to concentrate and squinted down into the microscope. She had no luck, though. Her lack of concentration wouldn't allow her to focus the microscope, something that Sara had been able to do with a few simple twists for years.  
  
Giving up, she leaned back on the stool and glanced over to the files Grissom had given her. 'I didn't even look them, I was too busy making my exit.' That was it, what had been bothering her since returning. 'It's not that I stand in a doorway, it's as if I go in and out but never stay in the one room.'  
  
Alternate Reality, Florida, 1993  
  
The conference room was packed. Standing at the rear of the room, Sara tried to spot an empty seat. There appeared to be none available and the seminar was about to begin. She would have arrived earlier but she didn't wake up until just after half past noon due to her early morning pillow fight that had left her tired. She'd wanted to look nice for the seminar and took her time with a long shower and carefully chose her outfit, but that had left her with little time to spare to actually get to the hotel. 'Don't work your way around it, Sara. You know you wanted to look nice for him.'  
  
'Speaking of him.' Casting around the room, Sara tried to find Gil. 'Maybe he saved a seat for me?' She couldn't see him, but she spotted a seat, in the far right-hand back corner. 'Typical, Sara, if you're late you end up with a bad seat.' Giving up on finding Gil, Sara made her way to it.  
  
She was edging between two grey haired men when she saw him. Walking out with folder in hand, Gil moved to stand behind the lectern where he deposited the folder before looking out to the audience. Momentarily, Sara was at odds to understand what he was doing, before it dawned on her. 'He's giving the seminar, you lump.' He hadn't told her that, but it made perfect sense now.  
  
He hadn't seen her, but it wasn't the place to call out to him she decided, looking at all the well-dressed people around her. Instead, she sat down and turned her attention to Gil Grissom. As Sara watched and listened, she became absorbed. Entomology, what Gil was speaking about, had never interested her, but Gil's obvious enthusiasm and knowledge of the subject made it interesting.  
  
Time passed quickly, almost an hour and a half, when Gil drew his lecture to a close. He had dove headfirst in the subject matter, using only a few prompts, and now, as he looked up to gauge his audience's reaction, he saw her.  
  
Sara stood out in stark relief against the crowd, easily drawing his attention to her. Although, in the dark theatre, she'd previously managed to go unseen by him. Their eyes met and he lost his place. She smiled at him.  
  
"Uh, and that concludes this, ah, lecture. If you have any questions, come and see me up front."  
  
She looked lovely, Gil noticed. Sara wore a dark red, almost maroon colored business halter and black slacks, while her hair had been pinned back except for a few loose curls. It was obvious that Sara had taken cares, but she had not been the only one. Despite standing under bright lights for so long, his crisply pressed blue shirt and slacks reminded Gil, that he too had gone to some trouble.  
  
Quickly, he diverted his gaze. 'Almost like a blushing schoolboy, Gil.' Giving in to the attraction, he was granted with a brilliant grin when he looked up again. Sara could have been the only other person in the room, as far as he was concerned. 


End file.
